Halal Meat
Halal Meat Muslims say a prayer before they kill an animal. Christians say a prayer before they eat it. I'm not sure why either of these practices should be thought particularly offensive. How on earth does eating a piece of meat or poultry that has been slaughtered with a prayer equate to accepting or supporting a religious practice? Why are you so threatened if a person has said a couple of words in Arabic beforehand? With so much crap going on in the world it's ridiculous (and frankly embarrassing) that this is something of major concern to the extent that it is creating so many headlines. Granted, people should be told if they are eating halal meat, but the vitriolic responses are becoming increasingly disturbing. This is not about food standards, it is not about 'defending' a secular society, it is not about labelling or consumer rights or animal welfare. This is about the fact that some people just don't like Muslims.Slaughterhouses are businesses, they also have "the right to choose" to conduct and practice their business in whichever way they wish in order to maximise their customer base. Pizza Express and other restaurants also have "the right to choose" what their menu consists of, again in order to maximise their customer base. Both halal-compliant slaughterhouses and Pizza Express are doing just that, nothing sinister or malicious or untoward. You have the right as the consumer to choose what you buy/eat, sure, which is why it's important that products are labelled well and that, say, places which use halal meat say that they do. Which Pizza Express was doing anyway. This wasn't a secret, the company are pretty clear about it on their website and if this matters so much to you then surely in order to exercise your "right to choose" as a consumer and decide whether/not to eat there you have to actually go and do some research? If you want to be an engaged consumer you have to actually be an engaged consumer, you can't expect everybody to do it for you, you have to ask. When you buy a chocolate bar, do you expect somebody to rush up to you and say 'BY THE WAY THAT CONTAINS NUTS~!' or do you read the packaging?This is a story about lazy people who couldn't be bothered to act like engaged consumers and are horrified to find out that they were 'unwittingly' being given something they never asked not to be given in the first place. That is all it is. My only concern is mislabeling food. If it is halal - it should be labelled as such. For example, the branches of subway which sell halal meat clearly show it. So, you have a choice - go in and buy halal food or not. In the case of supermarkets selling meat which is actually halal but not clearly labelled, this should change. Just like for a muslim it is important they eat halal eat meat it is important for some people (e.g. Sikhs) that their meat not be ritually slaughtered. In regards to animal welfare its a load of bullcrap. Ask the animal how it feels when it's life is taken. Calling it 'humane' is just nonsense. These type of news articles are purely about inciting hatred - the only ones who don't see it are the ones who truly believe that they have a right to hate on another group of people purely by what they believe. As my son asked "All our tongues are the same colour so why do they hate us daddy?" You guys can eat anything even pigs that roll in their own filth but you wont eat HALAL which is clean meat. You know, the bible also says you shouldn't eat pork as it is 'unclean'.....just saying for all of you stating this is a christian country. Bit of course it's nothing to do with the meat, it's just another excuse to have a pop at Muslims isn't it. I for one am proud to live in a multicultural society and am glad that my child is growing up in one. I would hate for her to grow up as a little Englander with a hateful, narrow view of the world and frightened of anything even remotely different to her. Pork is banned in the christian religion. Read the bible and find out. Stop this vendetta against Halal meat......how many will get an Asian / Indian halal curry after a night Boozing! And as usual I bet the Muslim parents wouldn't have an issue with pork etc as long it was served n cooked separately to the Halal food which would also apply if catering for vegetarians and non vegetarians!! British Muslims have every right to be catered for. They are as British as the rest. I think people are worried in case the ritual prayers are in fact spells which will turn them all into Muslims. This week's row has got nothing all to do with animal welfare. The fuss is about people's fears over the covert Islamification of society. You may or may not agree that concerns are realistic or even legitimate, but food suppliers and others concerned ought not to deny that it is an issue or answer criticisms honestly. I don't think eating halal meat actually turns you into a Muslim. This time it is aimed at Muslims. However assaults on ritual slaughter have a long history in terms of European anti-Semitism. This is just more of the same, prejudice dressed up as concern for animal welfare. Taking lives, foods and shelters of others are cruelty, so, don't take meat, fish and vegetables for food because they have lives. Don't milk animals because they are their babies food. Don't take drinks because they are the abodes of so many living creatures. Don't let mothers do breast-feeding because it harms their beauty.....Just be the champion of saints of mankind! " - Do this words sounds funny? Hope, don't for those champions who are the modern advocates of "RIGHTS". Stunning is unethical. Stunning causes the animal SO much pain. Halal is HUMANE and CARING to the animal. Denmark is a country that SUPPORTS animal cruelty. Science has shown the Halal is peaceful. Science has shown that stunning causes animals PAIN and SUFFERING. Centuries ago people were more natural. Stop perverted GMO and perverted food practices. Islam is the best way of life.Birmingham school says sorry for serving non-Halal meat to Muslim pupils. Council catering staff had wrongly dished up the non-Halal food to Muslim pupils on December 12, but details have only just come to light. On Monday parents received a letter from Craig Jansen, head of the 1,400-pupil secondary school and sixth form, in which he apologised unreservedly for the incident. There are hundreds of state and church schools where Muslim children are in majority. In my opinion, all such schools may be opted out as Muslim Academies so that non-Muslim children could enjoy their own meals in their own schools. IA London School of Islamics Trust
Iftikhar Ahmad ● 4281d13 Comments